Lumbar Stenosis Complicating Retained Epidural Catheter Tip

(Staats) Director, Division of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology/Critical Care Medicine.(Stinson) Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine.(Lee) Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology.Received from the Departments of Anesthesiology/Critical Care Medicine, Medicine, and Radiology, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 600 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland. Submitted for publication September 6, 1994. Accepted for publication May 27, 1995.Address reprint requests to Dr. Staats: Division of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology/Critical Care Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 600 North Wolfe Street, Osler 304, Baltimore, Maryland 21287–5354.DURING epidural anesthesia, catheter tips are infrequently fractured or sheared off, thereby remaining in the epidural space. The usual recommendation is to avoid surgical removal because complications are extremely rare. This represents the first reported case presentation of lumbar…